Ring traveler



My w, 1923. 11,4@1,59

` P. C. WENTWORTH RI NG TRAVELER Filed April 21. 1922 Patented July 10, 1923.

warren s'rA'ri-s IPHILIP C. WENTWORTH, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISIllAItl'lD.7

RING TRAVELER.

Application'flle April 21, 1922. Serial No. 555,930.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that lI, PHILIP C. `WENT- WORTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, county of Providence,

a 'State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ring Travelers, of Which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ring travelers for m usein ring spinning and ring twisting, and

is 'a continuation in part of the subjectmatte-r contained in Letters Patent No. 1,415,-

069, March 18, 1922, for ring travelers,

granted to me, and to which reference is w made as containing a full discussion of the problems peculiar to the ring traveler.

In my pror application, I have developed and claimed my invention from the viewpoint of preventing the accumulation of lint upon the traveler bow. In this application I shall discuss my invention from the Viewpoint of increasing the hardness of the traveler at the .horns while leaving sufficient resiliency in the region of the bow to permit the traveler to readily flex When it is sprung over the flanges of the spinning ring.

This matter of great hardness at the horns of the traveler while at the same time having the bow with maximum resiliency obviously involves conflicting elements. In practice, however, these two factors are of very great importance. Not only the life of the traveler is dependent on the hardness of the horns, but the life of the ring itself is dependent upon this same ,factor because as soon as the horn begins to wear it immediately begins to exert a'destructive effect on 'the ring itself. It need only be borne in mind that the traveler is running on the ring at a tremendous speed to be evident that unless all surfaces are smooth and hard frietion will be increased and heat generated. The result is the drawing of the temper of the horn and the increase of wear therein, and the increase of wearon the horn correspondingly increases the friction and thewear on the ring and thus augments the heat so that the destructive tendency once wear has begun multiplies rapidly. This has made it necessary to carefully determine the life of the traveler in order to anticipate its destructive effect, and the life of the traveler has therefore been short, and changes with their resultant delays and expense have been necessarily frequen i ing.

I have discovered that by reducing the amount of metal in the bow of the traveler it is possible to obtain a maximum degree of hardness at the horns with a suitable intermediate temper. in the region of the bow So @0 that the traveler can be sprung over the ring without snapping. Travelers in accordance with my invention therefore no longer represent a compromise between the matter of hardness and temper, but the hardness and temper desired in each part are obtained so that the durability of my traveler is increased two to three times over that of the corresponding traveler of theold type. By this not only is the expense of traveler equipment reduced and the delay and expense of more ,frequent changes avoided, but the spinning or twisting rings are correspondngly protected by a wider margin of safety because of extreme hardness ofthe horns and the consequent retention of temper.

My novel traveler and the method of producing the same, together with several illustrative forms embodying the principles involved, is described and illustrated in the accompanying specification and drawings, and the characteristic features of novelty are particularly 'pointed out in the appended claims. Throughout the specification and drawings like reference characters are correspondingly applied, and in the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a' preferred form of ring traveler in accordarce with my invention, and diagrammatically indicating by the heavy and light stippling the variation in carbon content of the finished traveler at different portions thereof.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the traveler` blank before it is bent to'forgn.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the formed traveler prior to carbonization and temper- F ig. 4 is a similar view thereof after carbonization.

Fig. lis a similar view thereof after tempering, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are plan views of modified forms of traveler.

In practicing my invention I produce my travelers in any desired-style or type forming them with a diminished amount of metal in the bows. This may be done in various ways but preferably I form an opening and preferably make that opening in accordance with the invention set forth in my copendltl ing application for the reason that by so doing T obtain the results therein specified combined with the results of my tempering invention involved herein.

Tn the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. l to 5 inclusive, the bow 1 of the traveled is centrally provided with a longitudinally disposed slot 2 between the horns 3 thereof. ln Fig. 6 the traveler bow is provided with an annular series of spaced openings i, and in Fig. T, the traveler bow is provided with a pair of spaced longitudinally extending parallel slots 5. If desired the intervening tongue 6 of metal separating said slots may be slightly depressed.

ln the practice of my invention T cut and form travelers from stock which should be as low in carbon as possible. The strip stock is fed to the automatic forming machine which in the case of my new type of traveler is also equipped to cut the opening or openings in the stri during the feed. T have indicated at S, Tig. 2, a portion of the stock as it appears after slotting and before the traveler blank is cut and bent to form. By reference to this figure it will be seen that the strip is of uniform width and thickness. The travelers so formed are then treated to increase their carbon content.

ln practice T deliberately absorb in the travelers the greatest amount of carbon that it is possible for them to take on. This is done by packing the travelers in layers be'- tween stratas of carbonizing material. The packs are then placed Within a furnace where they are allowed to remain for some six or seven hours so as to assure as complete an absorption of the carbon by the metal of the traveler as is possible throughout the entire traveler, whereupon the travelers are withdrawn and quenched. At this stage the travelers are extremely hard but correspondingly brittle and in a condition in which they would be apt to break in the bows in springing on. ll next subject the traveler to a heating step by which the temper is drawn principally in the bows of the traveler. As above stated, my travelers are formed with a diminution of the .metal of the stock in the region of the bows. ln the form shown, this is accomplished by the cutting of a slot or slots so that the body of metal of the traveler is of less mass than the horns. The travelers are placed in pans and subiected to a tempering heat which iscarefully regulated with due regard to the weight and style of the traveler. Under the tempering heat the diminisheolvmass of the traveler bow responds more quickly than the horns so that the carbon begins to recombine in the bow before the horns are affected by the heat. The tempering is carried to the point where more carbon has been recombined in the bow than in the horns. The tempering effect is therefore greater in atenean the how than in the horns so that the bow will be tough and resilient and the horns will be glass hard and in a state of mazimum eficiency. The travelers are then withdrawn from the tempering furnace and quenched.

While it is difficult to determine with mathematical certainty the exact degree of diminution of the metal of the traveler the bow it is possible by test and expert observance to so proportion the metal in these parts that the bow can be given What is usually referred to as a watch spring temper., while producing in the horns the desired hardness which is referred to as glass hardness. T am thus able to produce commercially and economically travelers in accordance with high standards and Which actually have aresiliency of the bow which assures against any possible spreading of the horns .when they are sprung on the ring and which have their horns of substantially that glass hardness which has so long been desired,` but which as far as T am aware has never been' attempted.

Various modifications in the form of the 'traveler and in the manner of diminishing the material at the bow or of securing greater hardnessl at the horns and greater resiliency in the bow and in the manner of treatment, are all to be considered as within the scope of my invention if within the limits of the appended claims.

What T therefore claim and'desire to se- 1 cure by Letters Patent is 1. A harclened and tempered ring traveler comprising a bow and terminal horns, the tempering efi'ect being greater in the how portion than in the horns, and the horns having greater hardness than said bow.

2. A high carbon tempered one piece ring traveler comprising a bow and terminal horns, said traveler having a spring temper in its bow portion merging into harder horn areas.

3. A hardened and tempered one piece ring traveler comprising a bow and terminal horns and having a substantially uniform carbon content throughout, the carbon of said bow having a greater proportion of its. carbon recombined than that of the horns.

d. A one piece ring traveler comprising a bow and terminal horns of substantially uniform carbon content throughout but having its bow portion tempered to a relative softness and greater resiliency.

5. A one piece ring traveler comprising a relatively soft spring tempered bow and relatively harder horns.

6. A one piece ring traveler comprising ms a bow and terminal horns 'and having a greater amount of hardening carbon in its horns than in its bow portion.

7. A hardened and tempered one piece ring traveler comprising a bow and terminal horns,' said bow having an opening therethrough, and said horns having greater ha'dness than said bow.

8. The method of making a ring traveler consisting in forming a traveler of low carbon stock and in treating the traveler to retain in it a greater amount of hardening carbon in the horns than in the bow.

9. The method of making a ring traveler consisting in forming the traveler of low carbon stock, in hardening substantially uniformly throughout and in tempering the bow of the traveler while leaving the horns relatively harder.

10. The method of making ring travelers consisting in forming the traveler from low ing the bow while leaving the horns relatively harder.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP C. WENTWORTH. Witnesses:

MARION- F. VVEIss, GEO. B. RAwLNae. 

